THE government should allocate P3 billion from the competitiveness enhancement measures fund (CEMF) to bankroll programs for the local coffee sector in 2026, according to industry leaders.
Sources, however, called for the revision of the coffee industry roadmap set to end this year, since it would serve as a ‘basis for funding.’
Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food Inc. (PCAFI) President Danilo Fausto said the current balance of CEMF at the end of last year stood at P5.16 billion.
‘We need to access that money because 60 percent of that money is collected from the tariffs of coffee that should be flown back to the industry,’ Fausto told reporters on the sidelines of the 1st Philippine Coffee Sustainability Congress organized by the Philippine Coffee Board (PCB) in Makati City on Thursday.
‘But the fund can only be accessed if it is included in the GAA [General Appropriations Act],’ he added.
Under the 2026 National Expenditure Program (NEP), the CEMF was allocated only P25 million, or a tenth of the P250 million allotted in the previous NEP. In the 2025 GAA, the fund is at P1.25 billion.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. earlier confirmed to the BusinessMirror that the DA had yet to use the fund earmarked for the CEMF in the 2025 GAA.
Because of this, the DA chief said the agency did not request an additional budget for CEMF for next year. He added that the agency is revising the policy that would ease farmers’ access to the fund.
The CEMF is established under Republic Act 8800, wherein 50 percent of revenues collected from fees, charges, and safeguard duties on imported goods would be earmarked for this fund.
Industry sources said the CEMF consists mostly of safeguard duties collected from coffee and poultry imports.
With this, Fausto noted that the earmarked fund should be allotted to the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), whose mandate was to distribute seeds.
‘The problem in every crop in the Philippines is [lack of farmers’ access to] seeds and planting materials. Without these, you have no crops,’ Fausto said.
‘All we have to do is put the fund in the GAA, give it to the BPI, so that support for seeds and planting materials can be provided.’
‘Lack of coffee trees’
For PCB Chairperson Chit Juan, planting materials are critical in the industry, given the lack of coffee trees in the country.
As such, Juan said the new targets outlined in the coffee industry roadmap set to run from 2026 to 2030 should zero in on changes in the supply of seedlings.
‘There are not enough accredited nurseries, so we need to localize the nurseries and teach farmers how to have their own community nurseries,’ she said, noting that they were in talks with the BPI about whether this could be realized.
Juan added that the BPI should have centers around the country that would boost the competitiveness of coffee farmers.
‘We want to have centers through the BPI because currently, if a farmer wants to get their soil tested, they have to go all the way to Diliman. They don’t have access to services that will make them more competitive,’ she said.